Modern Marketing - Blog by Collaborate PR & Marketinghttps://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/
en-USThu, 30 Nov 2017 09:48:49 +0000http://www.typepad.com/http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifSome Rights ReservedBetter ROI In Digital Marketinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/2jEvlyiI8_4/better-roi-in-digital-marketing.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/11/better-roi-in-digital-marketing.htmlThese days reporting about return on digital marketing and media investment is likely to be done to a senior corporate audience who are interested in real-world commercial outcomes such as market share, ROI, profitability and CAPEX.One of my first jobs in digital marketing was to manage analytical reporting of the traffic to clients’ websites. At the time this all seemed very sophisticated with talk of ‘hits’, ‘weblogs’ and ‘webmasters’ hinting at scientific precision. However, in reality, our analysis in monthly client meetings often amounted to no more than showing that the overall traffic was increasing, with accompanying charts showing steep lines pointing northwards. Of course, this impressive data was merely the result of a rising digital tide lifting all corporate websites that, at the time, were a new phenomenon along with talk of the information superhighway exciting headline writers and stock markets around the world.

That was all very much when digital marketing was a niche player – and sometimes eccentric relative – in the brand marketing world. Twenty years on, such views look positively quaint. Today, digital analytics is much closer to financialmodelling using powerful systems such as those from Google, IBM and Adobe – among many others - that can digest information from any digital source be it online, offline, in-app, in-store, onboard, in-home or out-of-home. A vast swirling ocean of signals that individuals are...

...broadcasting about their lives and are now valuable enough to be traded in electronic markets akin to their more established financial cousins.

Additionally, now that digital marketing is no longer the poor relative but the big brother of brand marketing, the scrutiny these budgets come under means reports of clickthroughs, pageviews, impressions and visits are quickly being replaced by economic value, cohorts, ROAS, segments and good old-fashioned profit and loss. In other words, digital marketing has grown-up and is now subject to the same commercial interrogation as all other aspects of corporate investment and governance.

In the Digital Strategy Sessions I run, ROI in digital marketing has long been a hot topic that we have tackled using Avinash Kaushik’s Digital Marketing and Measurement Model (DM&MM). Having applied this deceptively powerful framework many times to a very wide range of scenarios, sectors, categories and brands, this area has taken on a life of its own as a new strategy and training session entitled Better ROI In Digital Marketing launched in partnership with my long-time compadres at the IAB.

In the sessions, we use the DM&MM to work through clients’ real-world scenarios and data to create plans that stand up to the new scrutiny that digital budgets now attract.

These days reporting about return on digital marketing and media investment is likely to be for a senior corporate audience who are interested in real-world commercial outcomes such as market share, ROI, profitability and CAPEX. And no one wants to be tackling that tricky scenario standing in front of a chart pointing north with analysis showing merely that the rising digital tide is still rising.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingStrategyTechnologycherkoffThu, 30 Nov 2017 09:48:49 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/11/better-roi-in-digital-marketing.htmlThe Digital Tide Creeps Up On TVhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/esyWJjG87EM/the-digital-tides-creep-up-on-you.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/06/the-digital-tides-creep-up-on-you.htmlTwelve years ago, YouTube was a young man at the zoo, today it’s the UEFA Champions League Final.
The digital tide creeps up on TV.Last weekend I sat down to watch the Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Juventus. Historically, this has been a prime example of ‘Event TV’; a huge must-watch sporting occasion – shown live on broadcast networks. A genre that traditional broadcasters have held up as a final unassailable bastion against the efforts of Silicon Valley to take over the living room. However, no longer it seems.

After scrolling around and finding that only BT was showing the game, the familiar complexities of navigating today’s TV landscape began. Although a BT customer, I didn’t have access to the right package but I noticed its coverage was live and free on YouTube. With multiple remotes in hand I switched from Freeview via a Humax box to the TV apps on my Sony TV. I then launched YouTube and fiddled with the sound settings and there it was: full-screen UCL action.

Now while far from being a slick user-experience this felt like a moment when the tech titans had finally breached the last defences of traditional broadcasting. It’s been a long time coming with Google launching its first salvoes at the traditional broadcasters almost ten years ago before launching into its ownhardware venture with Sony. Since then, there have been...

...a myriad of twists and turns. However the direction of travel has been one way with the powerful tides of networked media always flowing in favour of San Jose's giants.

In the Digital Strategy Sessions we run, we look at the underlying trends that drive the direction of these tidal changes including how networked media is affecting modern TV in ways we might not expect. Even if, by now, we should.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalEntertainmentFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingPRStrategyTechnologyTelevisioncherkoffWed, 07 Jun 2017 13:00:08 +0100https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/06/the-digital-tides-creep-up-on-you.htmlWhat Will You Bid For These Pyjama Tops?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/TiFSsWtm2eg/what-will-you-pay-for-these-pyjama-tops.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/05/what-will-you-pay-for-these-pyjama-tops.htmlIn digital marketing it's the ‘soft’ planning work, not the hard technology that creates the trickiest issues.In our Digital Strategy Sessions there is often a moment when the executive teams realise that digital marketing and media doesn’t come with a rate card that can be negotiated over a good lunch in Soho.

Nowhere is this more true than when reviewing the programmatic auctions that drive modern digital media markets. For executives used to well-thumbed pricing manuals for TV spots, out-of-home billboards or double-page spreads, this new environment can be disorientating.

Traditional media formats benefit from a baked-in sense of value and price. This may be down to an established econometric model, a long-held benchmark, a missive from the procurement department or simply the deal done by the media agency at an away day. Just like the company furniture, executives are comfortable with price and value. In contrast, when entering an auction-driven modern media market, the lack of historical payments to lean back on can be discomforting.

One of the disconcerting aspects of attending an auction – offline or online - for the first time is not having a definitive price for the items you want to buy. The cost is determined by your budget and the value of the auction lot in your own context.

To draw upon a simple example from my family history, long before the digital world, a much-loved uncle of mine...

...started his commercial career at government auctions. There he’d buy massive lots of pyjama bottoms that had been separated from their tops for trivial sums. He’d then wait for the wayward tops to crop up and reunite the garments adding considerable value along the way. In other words, he had a bidding strategy that worked for his specific context.

Todays' executives must do the same and sift through digital lots of consumer data and signals to find the opportunity in the context of their own business models. From there, a bidding strategy can be defined to realise the value for their organisations. In many cases, it’s this ‘soft’ work, not the hard technology that creates the tricky issues in today’s digital media and marketing world.

Where do you start? The answer lies in solid analytical tools, clear online business models and a willingness to continuously iterate and test. However, the realisation that this requires a considerable amount of planning, investment and moving of the corporate furniture can come as something of an unwelcome surprise. Old strategies no longer apply. Arriving at an auction and trying to drive down the prices by bidding at a lower level than everyone else for the entire auction catalogue won’t work.

Unfortunately, digital marketing isn’t simply about ordering a new machine and turning it on. The new kit needs to be carefully instructed and calibrated to ensure it delivers within the company’s specific context.

Only with this soft planning and fine-tuning can the value of a mid-page unit, snap geofilter, custom audience or long tail keyword be accurately determined. This is because the outcomes are likely to be very different by sector, category and brand. Not everyone is in the pyjama-matching business. Only then can the bidding strategy be specified and the rules provided to the algorithm, demand-side platform or other software that ‘sits’ in the auction room carrying out its instructions.

As well as reviewing relevant digital and technical systems, we cover off these ‘softer’ planning issues in our Digital Strategy Sessions, using practical techniques to build financially-focused digital marketing programmes. In modern digital marketing technology is just half the story. There’s no point in having the shiniest kit without a clear commercial plan. Or pyjama tops without pyjama bottoms.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingPRStrategyTechnologyTelevisioncherkoffThu, 18 May 2017 12:52:52 +0100https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/05/what-will-you-pay-for-these-pyjama-tops.htmlDigital Marketing Grows Uphttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/Hs0A9Y5hIdk/digital-marketing-has-grown-up-aka-pmp.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/05/digital-marketing-has-grown-up-aka-pmp.htmlDigital marketing must now deliver in the same way as all other commercial activities.Digital marketing has grown up. For a good period of time digital marketing played by different rules than other areas of the brand business. However, now digital is the majority of marketing, with the associated elevated levels of investment, it has come under the scrutiny that all commercial activities attract.

This moment of maturity was brought into sharp focus - with headlamps on full-beam - when Marc Pritchard, the grandest of grand fromage at P&G, stood up recently and announced that, ‘the days of giving digital a pass are over’. What did he mean by this? To my mind, it was a combination of calling out the illusory emperor’s clothes and a grand reveal showing that the inner workings of adtech were not magic. In fact, as Pritchard threw the curtain back, Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg could have been standing there exclaiming - 'Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain!'

Let’s call the subsequent period of maturity Post Marc Pritchard or PMP.

The only real surprise is how long it’s taken. For a long time executives have been blinded by the digital light. A couple of years ago, I accompanied...

...a super-smart client to see his traditional media agency one morning and then his mobile app consultancy in the afternoon. The first visit involved said client lambasting the media team about the performance of his TV spots and demanding an immediate 1.5 per cent ratings uplift. In comparison, the afternoon was spent with the client listening attentively, like a puppy to his owner, as the app designers increased the scope and investment of the project at will explaining that the addition of virtual bells and whistles were in fact essential core functionality. When confronted by digital technology this whip-smart executive immediately kowtowed.

Such deference was widespread. Since the digital Big Bang of 1995 adtech has been an ever-expanding universe that appeared to reverse brand gravity. The only required metric was, ‘it’s bigger’, leaving previously smart brand executives to reach for their sunglasses and forget normal commercial physics. However, PMP, that's all changed.

So what to do? Well, in fact, marketing in a digital world is very similar to marketing in any other world. Just with a lot more acronyms and analytical dashboards. However, when you realise that the normal rules still apply the light shouldn't be so blinding.

For instance, the requirement to attract good customers and build long-term relationships remains unaffected by the reality-warping digital gravity field. However, these consumers (aka people) now rarely look up from their pocket supercomputers and so the welcoming patter of the old-school salesman has been replaced by beautiful UX that’s tested within a nano-micron of its skeleton framework.

Furthermore, PMP, as we reach for the new rate card to work out just how much this is really costing us, we realise there isn’t one. However, with the scales removed from our eyes, we can quickly understand that the warp-speed, programmatically-driven auctions decided by the mercurial world of header-bidding are still just auctions. And, although elusive-sounding, micro and macro conversions are simply digital stepping-stones that take curious customers through your store’s entrance and into the aisle that they were seeking.

In the Digital Strategy Sessions I run we address how Pritchard has lit up the digital world and shown it to be very like the analogue one. One where money is spent to reach customers, revenues are created by transactions and share prices are determined by profit margin. Then we review and build plans that meet his rallying cry.

There is no longer anything new under the digital sun; it may have been fun to be digitally young, footloose and fancy-free, but we’re all grown-up now.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingStrategyTechnologycherkoffMon, 08 May 2017 08:24:16 +0100https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2017/05/digital-marketing-has-grown-up-aka-pmp.htmlKPIs Not APIshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/HCAQo-sKvSU/kpis-not-apis.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/kpis-not-apis.htmlDigital marketing creates challenges when deciding roles and responsibilities.Among the issues we cover in the Digital Strategy Sessions I run are the changing roles and responsibilities required to meet the new demands of digital and networked media. These can be some of the thorniest challenges involving the nitty-gritty of who is going to be responsible for what, and crucially, what level of investment will be required for new functions. We look at how to approach this tricky area using planning frameworks that focus on bringing digital marketing in line with traditional business planning. This means moving beyond the view of digital marketing as a box-ticking exercise - or specialist technical silo - and understanding how different techniques genuinely contribute to the business and its bottom-line. It’s an exercise that often raises as many questions as answers but is helpful in moving executives teams away from shiny technology and the latest gizmos. The shorthand I use for this, ‘KPIs Not APIs’. While APIs, or application programming interfaces to give them their proper title, are a core aspect of the modern web’s plumbing, unless they have context within a company’s business plan they are fairly meaningless. Only when that context is shared and understood in an organisation through a planning framework - that can be returned to and improved - can roles and responsibilities be clarified.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingSocial SoftwareStrategyTechnologycherkoffTue, 10 Mar 2015 10:48:26 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/kpis-not-apis.htmlUnderstanding Programmatichttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/tqvDRhDy8B0/understanding-programmatic.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/understanding-programmatic.htmlProgrammatic advertising markets are increasingly similar to global financial markets.The jargon and opaque terminology around programmatic advertising, such as DMPs and PIIs, obscures – as is often the case in digital marketing – what is actually happening. The moment the link between audience and content was broken and brands started to target people rather than pages, a market emerged for information about individuals and what they are interested in. Think attention data or personal signals. This market has been expanding very rapidly ever since and now can be thought of as being similar to global financial markets, although less vast and sophisticated. That said, there is a lot of advanced trading occuring in these markets among some very big, very well-capitalised players ranging from Dunnhumby to Oracle to Experian. The layering of so-called first, second and third party anonymised data into elaborate targeting packages means companies can profit from media and advertising budgets without ever going near a channel plan. Of course, there’s nothing new in the idea of companies participating in media by supplying market research and targeting information such as email lists and direct marketing databases. However, comparing such old-school techniques to today’s programmatic markets for attention data is like comparing the modern world of global financial instruments to the city of London when all that was required was a bowler hat and a cut glass accent. In the Digital Strategy Sessions I run we look at what these new programmatic markets mean for brands and what's required to participate.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingStrategyTechnologycherkoffThu, 05 Mar 2015 13:40:28 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/understanding-programmatic.htmlWould Your Digital Strategy Pass The Chairman’s Test?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/kVF5R4d6XmE/will-your-strategy-pass-the-chairmans-test.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/will-your-strategy-pass-the-chairmans-test.htmlDigital marketing now needs to go beyond clicks, fans and followers and become part of traditional business planning.One of the common scenarios I come across in the Digital Strategy Sessions I run is when a company has invested in a range of disparate digital products and programmes but are left feeling unsure about what is really being added to the bottom line. In the majority of cases the problem is that the digital marketing programme is not delivering against business outcomes that senior executives genuinely care about. This is partly because, in recent years, digital marketing has grown up and slowly joined the mainstream but has not yet been integrated with existing business planning procedures. For example, senior executives don’t care about clicks, fans and followers. They might like the idea of having the latest digital wizadry but what they really care about are revenues, business development, growth markets, cost efficiencies and recruitment. If the digital marketing programme can’t be demonstrated to deliver against these issues – even in a minor way – it can never expect to receive the full support of those signing off on major investments. The question I pose in the Digital Strategy Sessions is would you be happy to stand up in front of your chairman or your clients’ board and present your digital marketing plan? And, more importantly, are you happy you are addressing the issues that are top of their to-do-lists?

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingPRStrategycherkoffWed, 04 Mar 2015 15:57:09 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/will-your-strategy-pass-the-chairmans-test.htmlGetting The Data Habithttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/zCGXSv91y9U/getting-the-data-habit.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/getting-the-data-habit.htmlModern data analytics can be overwhelming but a little time spent regularly analysing one or two business issues can be very productive.In the Digital Strategy Sessions I run I often talk about acquiring the data habit. The world of web analytics and data can be utterly overwhelming for those who are coming to it for the first time. It’s the part of the digital marketing ecosystem where jargon and strange language goes on steroids and the whole thing can easily sound like a geeky maths class. Even when looking at simple tools, such as Google Trends, it can be easy to get lost in the vast data sets that it uses. How can so much information be so meaningless is the sense that I think a lot of people – understandably – have. That’s why it’s important to find a single business-related issue and focus on that. And then, crucially, keep on returning to that data on a regular – maybe weekly – basis. The next step is to find a way to log the changes that you see and the picture will begin to appear. You could do this with a few screen shots – or maybe download a CSV file and create a chart in Excel. It doesn't have to be too clever to begin with. Perhaps just try following a company’s brand name on Google Trends and see how it changes over time. Before you know it, you will have developed the data habit.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingPRSocial SoftwareStrategyTechnologycherkoffMon, 02 Mar 2015 14:22:09 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/03/getting-the-data-habit.htmlThe Creepy Linehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/OX0-7XfK52g/the-creepy-line.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/the-creepy-line.htmlEveryone has a different level of comfort when it comes to invasive digital data techniques.Whilst the constantly changing world of technology is interesting, the way it affects our lives, opinions and behaviour is where marketeers should focus. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the way technology affects our privacy. In the Digital Strategy Sessions I run, I call this The Creepy Line. It’s the feeling or idea of technology becoming too pervasive. The interesting aspect is that everyone has a different threshold. For some, being tracked their every waking moment is a positive choice, as they see immediate useful feedback, maybe in the shape of health data - such as sleep or exercise patterns. For others, the mission is to stay ‘off-grid’ to as great an extent as possible. For most, it’s somewhere in between where people are happy to offer up very intimate details about their lives in some areas, such as a fertility app, but want to keep everything else under wraps. Understanding where your customers’ Creepy Line sits and what, if anything, you can do to influence it, is increasingly important. The difficulty arises when using so-called second or third party data – or someone else’s first party data as it’s sometimes known. Third parties may guarantee the ethically sound nature of their data using, ‘privacy-safe’, ‘scrubbing’ techniques to remove Personally Identifiable Information (PIIs). However, such talk immediately takes me over The Creepy Line.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingPRSocial SoftwareStrategyTechnologycherkoffMon, 16 Feb 2015 13:49:58 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/the-creepy-line.htmlMarketing Strategy In A Digital Worldhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/7ftNIOeKdEA/marketing-strategy-in-a-digital-world.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/marketing-strategy-in-a-digital-world.htmlDigital marketing is dead, it's more helpful to talk about marketing in a digital world.In the Digital Strategy Sessions I run I sometimes start by saying that I am going to try and make an argument with which the people in the group should feel free to disagree. I go onto suggest that digital marketing is dead, and that we should talk about marketing strategy in a digital world. To illustrate my point, I occasionally describe meetings where I’ve sat with a group of senior executives who are grappling with how they should handle the effects of digital and networked media on their market. However, when I raise a few issues for discussion there is a slightly awkward moment and the executives in question say words along the lines of, ‘Let’s wait for Fred – he’s our digital specialist’. At that point, the barriers go up and, ‘Fred’ becomes a way of avoiding the digital issues – whatever they may be. The idea of marketing strategy in a digital world can sometimes help overcome this obstacle and ground subsequent conversations. We can then go on to discuss which aspects of the digital world are relevant to the executives' specific market sector and planning techniques for including them within ongoing business planning - in ways that everyone can understand and appreciate. Not just Fred.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessDigitalFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingStrategycherkoffThu, 05 Feb 2015 11:00:11 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/marketing-strategy-in-a-digital-world.htmlAdvertising Alienshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/c3M4C5PxuAg/at-a-digital-strategy-session-i-ran-the-other-week-for-a-creative-agency-one-of-the-management-commented-that-shed-recent.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/at-a-digital-strategy-session-i-ran-the-other-week-for-a-creative-agency-one-of-the-management-commented-that-shed-recent.htmlThe advertising industry may be losing sight of creative ideas as it becomes more focused on digital analytics.At a Digital Strategy Session I ran the other week for a creative agency, one of the management commented that she’d recently been to an advertising conference and felt like she was at a technology show. Her comment was that if an alien had landed at the event, it would have assumed advertising was largely about software calculating small differences in consumer behavior and purchasing patterns. Certainly all very different from the days of the fabled Big Idea, where ad agencies would arrive and unveil the result of their reductive brain-mashing. These days, a lot more attention is paid to the brute-force style analytical approach where the goal is to maximise clicks, fans and followers. Undoubtedly, the apparently revolutionary advantages brought by automated markets trading signals and attention data are highly alluring for CMOs with data-hungry procurement officers breathing down their necks. However, as media companies increasingly morph into software houses and drive the big data agenda forward, it’s very easy for the power of good creative to get lost. Or become confused with innovative data management platforms or whizzy, layered look-a-like and life event targeting techniques. No doubt, it’s all just part of the ebb and flow occurring in media and marketing as the rising tide of digital and networked media continues.

]]>AdvertisingBusinessFinanceInnovationInteractive MarketingManagementMarketingMediaModern MarketingPRSocial SoftwareStrategycherkoffWed, 04 Feb 2015 14:01:16 +0000https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/at-a-digital-strategy-session-i-ran-the-other-week-for-a-creative-agency-one-of-the-management-commented-that-shed-recent.htmlEveryone Wants Answershttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ModernMarketingBlog/~3/g848FnFgzl8/everyone-wants-answers.html
https://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2015/02/everyone-wants-answers.htmlPeople want very specific answers to very specific questions about their digital marketing strategy. Unfortunately, that's not always possible.Everyone would like specific answers to their specific digital marketing questions. And ideally they would like them immediately and in a paint-by-numbers format. This is one lesson I have learnt from the four hundred odd Digital Strategy Sessions I have run. Generally, it’s good to give people what they want. Especially, if others are saying they can provide perfectly packaged, specific, actionable, deliverable, measurable strategic plans. However, in my experience – unfortunately - it’s just not feasible. The world of digital is now so vast, fluid and throws up so many challenges – not to mention jargon – that I think it’s best to focus on the landscape and how digital and networked media is changing specific sectors. And how that influences business strategy – if at all. In fact, most marketing folk and brands know this to be true, and understand that the most important aspect of operating in today’s markets remains understanding what consumers (aka people) are doing differently, and how technology is changing their expectations. Along with the tools that let them operate in these new networked media environments. So in the Digital Strategy Sessions that’s what I focus on and, generally, people find it helpful. Even if deep down they really want specific answers to their specific questions. But, hey, don’t we all?